The European Commission has adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963, establishing the documentary evidence that importers will be required to submit to verify the country of melt and pour of steel products entering the EU. The implementing regulation, unanimously backed by EU member states on August 19, will apply from October 1, 2026, and is intended to strengthen traceability while limiting the risk of steel being rerouted through third countries to circumvent the EU's trade measures.
Mill test certificate to become key document
Starting from October 1, importers will have to declare the country in which the steel was melted and poured in their customs declarations, supported primarily by a mill test certificate indicating both the country of melt and pour and the relevant heat number.
If a mill test certificate is unavailable or does not contain the required information, customs authorities may accept invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates, purchase orders or contracts, long-term supplier declarations, cost-accounting and production records, export-country customs documents, commercial correspondence or production descriptions, provided that they identify both the country of melt and pour and the heat number.
During the first year of implementation, these documents may be accepted either as standalone evidence or as supplementary documentation accompanying an incomplete mill test certificate. However, from October 1, 2027, they will only be accepted as complementary evidence and importers will therefore be required to provide a mill test certificate in all cases.
New requirements support EU steel import framework
According to the European Commission, the final requirements take into account feedback submitted by nearly 170 steel producers, users, traders, importers and industry associations during a targeted consultation.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, the melt and pour provision forms part of the EU's new steel trade regulation, which entered into force on July 1, 2026, replacing the previous safeguard measure. The framework establishes an annual duty-free tariff-rate quota of 18.35 million mt and applies a 50 percent duty to imports exceeding the available quota.
The traceability requirement applies to all origins, including European Economic Area countries, and will provide the Commission with data to assess by June 30, 2028 whether the country of melt and pour should also serve as the basis for access to tariff-rate quotas.
